Pipe-wrench



, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSBORN B. HALL, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIPE-WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,685, dated April 13, 189'?.

Application filed December 21, 1896. Serial No. 616,443. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Beit known that I, OsBoRN B. HALL, of Malden, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Pipe-Wrenches, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a pipewrench, and is especially adapted for use with pipes of brass or other comparatively soft material or pipes which have been polished, screw-threaded, or nickel-plated and which might be injured or disigured by use of the pipe-Wrenches now commonly employed. In the pipe-Wrenches now commonly used, moreover, the grip upon the pipe is obtained by means of a cam-surface of some form or another whereby the members of the wrench are adapted to grip the pipe through the agency of such cam, so that the bite of the wrench upon the pipe is dependent upon the movement of said wrench to turn the pipe, it being customary in such an arrangement to provide the jaws of the wrench with teeth or roughened surfaces to cause the bite thereof to be effective, so that when pipes of soft material or, in fac-t, any pipes are turned by the use of such a wrench the surface thereof is liable to be scarred, and where the said pipes are exposed and the good appearance thereof is desirable the use of such a wrench is distinctly objectionable. Further than this, when a Wrench of this kind is applied to a pipe lit must obviously be moved a certain distance in the direction to turn the pipe before the jaws will properly grip the same, so that there is a certain amount of lost motion in each turning operation, and in cases where a pipe is so situated that it is impossible to move the handle of the wrench a greater distance than that required to grip the jaws it is obviously impossible t0 use the wrench.

The present invention is mainly intended to overcome these objections, and in accordance therewith the wrench is provided with two opposite jaws having concave grippingsurfaces of sufficient area to provide an effectual frictional engaging surface, the said members being adapted to engage the opposite sides of the pipe and to be moved to and from each other by means of a screw or similar clamping device, which may also constitute the handle of the wrench.

In order that the wrench may be applied to a pipe, one of the said members is arranged to be movable with relation to the support therefor and may be removably secured between the two side members of a forked support, the said forked support also forming a guide for the othermember in its movement to and from such removable member, the movement thereof being produced by means of a supporting-stem screw-threaded in said forked support, while said threaded stem may be extended so as to constitute the handle of the wrench. lVhen therefore the wrench is applied to a pipe, the handle thereof may be turned by the operator to grip the members of the wrench upon the Vopposite sides of the pipe and the handle then moved laterally, the whole of such movement being obviously transmitted to the pipe, and to return the wrench and obtain a fresh grip the said handle is first turned or twisted to loosen the grip and then moved laterally and again turned to tighten the grip, after-which the operation is repeated.

A tight grip is thus obtainable without danger of marring or injuring the pipe, and it is obvious that if the said pipe is in such a position that the wrench-handle can be only moved through a very limited arc the entire movement can be utilized without lost motion, such as is necessary in the use of pipewrenches as now commonly constructed.

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a wrench embodying the invention; Fig. 2, an elevation thereof, and Fig. 3 an elevation taken at right angles to that shown in Fig. 2 and also showing a device for utilizing the same wrench with pipes of different diameters.

The engaging members or jaws a and b of the Wrench are secured in a forked support c, each of the said members having a concave face, so that they are adapted to engage the opposite sides of a pipe or rod A which is to be turned by the wrench.

In order that the said wrench may be applied to the pipe, the member a thereof is adapted to be moved with relation to the said support c so as to leave the jaws open, and is herein shown as provided with tongues 0,2, f1t- IOO ting in grooves c2 in the inner Walls of the said support c, so that the said member may be pushed laterally out from the said support c and inserted afterthe same has been placed in position to embrace the pipe, it being obvious, however, that said member might be other- Wise movably secured to the support c, as by a hinge. The said member ct may be secured in position in any suitable way, a spring-actuated pin c3 being herein shown as supported in a bore or opening in one member of the forked support c and normally pressed inward by means of a spring c4, secured by a screw c5 to the outside of the said support. The said pin is shown as provided with a tapered point, e30, adapted to engage a corresponding opening a3 in the member a, so that the said member can be pushed in and out, the pin giving way with a latching action. As herein shown, an opening a3 is provided at each side of the member a, so that it is immaterial which way the said member is turned when it is inserted. The strain upon the said member when secured as above described is withstood by the tongues a2, fitting in the grooves c2, so that it is obviously necessary only that the fastening device should be of such nature as to prevent the said member ce from slipping out when no strain is brought to bear on the same, the spring-pin c3 therefore being all that is required to accomplish the purpose.

The member b is adapted to be moved to and from the member Ct in order to grip the pipe and, as herein shown, is connected with a stem or handle CZ, having a screw-thread cl2 entering a correspondinglyethreaded bore in the support c and having a swivel connection with the member Z9, so that as the said stem is turned it will produce a longitudinal movement of said member with relation to the forked support c.

The connection between the said stem d and the member b may obviously be made in any suitable or usual Way, and the said stem is shown as provided with a head or iiange d3, adapted to enter an opening b2 in the member b and to be engaged by a pin b3, eXtending through said member b across the said opening, so that the rotary movement of the stem d is permitted, while its longitudinal movement is produced by the cooperation of its thread with that of the bore in the fork c and causes a corresponding movement of said member b. The said member b is guided and supported in the support c in any suitable way, being herein shown as provided with grooves fitting and conforming to the forked members c, the external outline of said member b being shown in dotted lines, Fig. l, and in full lines, Fig. 3, wherein the grooved portion is indicated in dotted lines.

The stem d, which constitutes the handle of the wrench, is shown as provided with a grip or knob d4, adapted to turn the same to tighten or loosen the grip of the members upon the pipe A. v

When the wrench is to be used in conjunction with a pipe or rod, the member a is removed by sliding the same laterally out from its supporting-grooves c2, and the forked support c is then moved to a position to embrace the pipe, as indicated in the drawings, the member a replaced therein, and the knob d* turned until the pipe is gripped between the member b and the said member a. The pipe is then turned by a lateral movement of the rod or handle in the usual way, and when the said handle can be moved no farther, or it is otherwise desired to take a fresh grip on the pipe, the said handle is turned by means of the knob d4 to loosen the grip and is then restored to a convenient position, the grip again tightened and the operation repeated.

It is practicable in accordance with the invention to provide gripping members of considerable area and shaped to conform to the pipe, so that a strong frictional hold is taken on the pipe by means of direct pressure and the pipe can be gripped without any lateral movement of the handle, as is necessary where a cam is depended upon, so that there is practically no lost motion, while the nature of the gripping-surface is such as to obviate any danger of scarring or disfigurin g the pipe.

In order that a single wrench `may be utilized with pipes of various sizes, a number of bushings of varying thickness may be supplied in conjunction with each wrench, such a bushing being shown in Fig. 3 as consisting of two members e and e2, connected together by a hinge e3, the external shape of said bushing being such as to fit and conform to the shape of the members et and Z9, while the internal surfaces thereof may be adapted to fit and conform to pipes of different diameters. The two members of the bushing may be hinged together, as shown, in order that each pair may be complete when it is desired to use it and that there may be no liability of inserting bushing members which are not mates.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific construction herein shown and described, and it is to be understood that the term removably secured used in the claims as descriptive of the wrench member, which is stationary during the operation of the wrench, isintended to infer only the removability thereof from its normal position in order to admit the pipe, and such descriptive term does not necessarily imply that said member is removable bodily from the other portions of the wrench.

l claiml. In a pipe-wrench, the combination with a forked support provided with a handle, the said forked support being adapted to embrace the pipe to be operated upon, of a movable wrench member supported and guided in its movement by the forked members of said support, a stationary wrench member supported by and between said forked members, and removable from its normal position to IOO IIO

IZO

permit the entrance of the pipe to be operated upon between said forked members, and means for moving said movable member to grip the pipe, substantially as described.

2. In a pipe-wrench, the combination with a forked support adapted to embrace the pipe to be operated upon,of a handle screw-threaded in the throat end of said forked support, a Wren ch member havin g a swivel connection with said handle and supported and guided by said forked support and longitudinally movable with relation thereto in response to the rotation of said handle, and a corresponding wrench member removably secured between the forked members ofthe support, substantially as described.

3. In apipe-wrench, the combination with a forked support provided with ahandle screwthreaded in the throat end thereof, of a longitudinal groove along the inner wall of each forked member of the support, a movable wrench member having a swivel connection withV said handle and being provided with tongues tting said grooves whereby it is supported and guided in its movement with relation to said support, a stationary wrench member also provided with tongues or projections,and transverse grooves in said forked members of the support coperating with said tongues to retain said member stationary so far as relates to longitudinal movement, said member being laterally removable to permit the entrance of the pipe to be operated upon between the forked members of said support, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OSBORN B. HALL.

Witnesses:

H. J. LIVERMORE, N. P. FORD. 

